HORRIFIC

L.A. Teacher Charged With Sex Abuse

Of at least 23 children.

A man who taught for 30 years at a Los Angeles elementary school has been charged with performing sex acts on 23 children from 2008 to 2010. Mark Berndt, 61, was arrested Monday after police found photos in his home of children ages 7 to 10 tied up, some with cockroaches crawling on them, and others holding spoons near their mouths. The photos seem to have been taken at Berndt’s school, and a plastic spoon recovered from his classroom tested positive for his semen. Ten children in the photographs have still not been identified; more than 80 students and staff have been interviewed. Berndt is being held on $2.3 million bail.